Getting There
by Emony1
Summary: Sequel to The Hardest Thing - XFiles crossover - what happens next?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Getting There 1/?  
Author: Emony  
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; X-Files belongs to Chris Carter, etc. Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon.  
Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: end of Buffy, end of X-Files.  
Sequel to: The Hardest Thing  
Summary: What happens next?  
A/N: This chapter has been heavily revised from the original version posted in 2003.

* * *

He was out.

He had been for a year and a half.

Why hadn't he gone back right there and then? Things had needed to be put into motion. He'd wanted to go back, to help. You don't always get what you want. And what, exactly, could he have done to help fight against the First Evil; not really his field of bad guys.

In that time he'd put a team together, not an easy task due to its makeup. If the three men who made up the Lone Gunmen had not been there when he'd taken the proposal to Mulder and Scully he may not have made it out alive, for real this time. Mulder had taken hours to calm down enough to listen, and Scully hadn't been much better.

He had told them his story, a modified version of the story the natives of Sunnydale had had two years previously. He had added in a few facts, such as the contacts he'd mentioned that were the middlemen between him and his real bosses were, in fact, the Lone Gunmen.

He was, by then, almost certain that the two ex-FBI agents believed his story, and had done so for at least two months. It wasn't belief that was the problem; it never had been for Mulder. The problem was trust, they'd never trust in Alex Krycek and any trust they had once placed in Frohicke, Langly and Byers was now shaky at best, lost at worst.

Alex sighed as he thought on the situation, he had hated that the truth he'd given them had broken their friendships. Hope was the only thing he could have, hope that one day, when this was all over the friendships would be mended, and perhaps even he would have his own with Mulder and Scully.

Mulder had thought that he had the 'truth' in that date he'd found, December 22nd 2012, but that was only the beginning. Who knew where the end was to be; maybe they would stop it years beforehand, or in the nick of time, or perhaps this would be the one where they would fail.

He didn't know all the answers, but they had to try. If you had the chance to stop the end of the world, wouldn't you try? Or perhaps it was just something in his genes. All you can do is try and hope and pray.

His thoughts changed towards his cousin's efforts at the same, at stopping the end of the world. Well, they were still here so she wasn't doing so badly. But, the only recognition she had received from the 'real world' was a plastic umbrella. Yes, there had been some attention at her graduation, but not many had stayed afterwards.

He laughed. It wasn't about fame; the rest of the world finding out how the world really works would not be a good thing. It had been better to enter the shadows and fight back.

The cameras had stopped working. He and Frohicke, Langly and Byers had seen them enter the school, Willow's spell, Anya's death, all but the fight underground.

The cameras had stopped. Two days previously. All that was left of Sunnydale was a great big hole in the ground. He didn't care, not that so many people had lost their homes, their town. All he wanted to know was if his family had survived, if Buffy and Dawn were still alive.

The world was still here, but had they sacrificed themselves so that the Earth would keep on turning?

He couldn't stand not knowing. They had yet to make contact with anyone, not even Angel.

* * *

The door behind Alex opened. Even though he knew that he was supposedly safe, he was still on guard. They may be in a secret installation underground, but how many times had Mulder, Scully or Buffy found a 'secret' installation?

A hand on his gun, hidden under his desk, he turned to face his visitor. It was Mulder. He relaxed slightly, leaving the gun in its hiding place. Mulder had changed in the year or two it had been since he had found the date. Yes, age had been a factor, but that wasn't it. It was in the way he moved; he had become more aware of his surroundings. Since his arrival at their base he'd become even more aware, so too had Scully. They were becoming even more like him. _Is that a good thing?_

"K-Alex?" He stumbled, remembering Alex's request. He had a file in his hands and his face told everything. The tall man thought he had found a new lead. Alex felt hope for a moment, but dismissed it quickly, he knew what the man had found and could see why he thought it was a new lead. It wasn't.

"Yes, Mulder?"

"I think I've found something."

Krycek waits, holding his breath.

"I think it was another ship." He opened the file.

Alex sighs, "Sunnydale?"

Mulder's face swung around, his jaw dropped in disbelief.

"H-how? Why didn't you mention it?" His face darkened, the man obviously thinking he'd finally found Krycek's treason.

"It wasn't a ship. I've seen pictures from the pole, I know how you might think that's what happened."

"It wasn't?" Mulder looked incredulous, "What else could it have possibly been?"

"I don't know." And he didn't know what had caused the hole that had once been Sunnydale.

"Then how do you know it wasn't a ship, _Alex_, how do you know?"

"Because I know exactly what happened up until two minutes before Sunnydale became nothing but a hole in the ground."

"So tell me!"

Alex sighed, it was a wonder Mulder had never been to Sunnydale before, or it would have been if he hadn't been aware of the fact that the Consortium had kept him out of there for years.

His only answer was, "Scully needs to hear too."

"What about the guys?"

_Is my answer going to destroy him further?_ _Can he take much more of what the world has to throw at him? Can any of us?_ Hoping to break it to him as gently as he could Alex answered, "They already know most of what I know, but we'll get them too."

* * *

Buffy was sick of the yellow school bus she had been stuck on for two days. Two days that had been full of discussions, _more like arguments_, on what would happen next. Sleep was a long forgotten dream, for anyone on the bus.

There had been so many questions to answer, so many problems they had to tackle, and there still were.

_What are we gonna do, Buffy?_

_What should we do about the slayers, Buffy?_

_We need to reform the Council, Buffy._

The blonde slayer knew what needed to be done. Any answers she had so far provided had fallen on deaf ears. They asked for answers, yet they wouldn't hear them.

The task ahead of them would not be something they could attack as a group; they would need to split up. They would stay in close contact. She laughed, what they had unleashed on an unsuspecting world could not be dealt with from the back seat of a school bus, no matter how many teenagers thought that was true.

They needed someone in Cleveland checking on the possible Hellmouth. They needed someone to find the slayers, to build a new council, once that would work _for_ the slayers and not the slayers for them.

_And I need, Dawn needs, Alex._

She was well aware that she wouldn't rest once she was there, but she needed to surround herself with the only family the Summers' girls still had left. They needed him and he needed them. Of that she was sure. One of those pesky slayer dreams had struck in the only ten minutes of sleep she had caught on the bus. A flash of herself, Dawn and Alex standing around a table, others there too, a planning meeting. She was not yet sure of who needed to be there, but she knew that at the very least she and her sister had to go.

"Buffy?" Giles questioned, it looked like they were ready for the next round.

End part.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Getting There 2/?  
Author: Emony  
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; X-Files belongs to Chris Carter, etc. Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon.  
Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: end of Buffy, end of X-Files.  
Sequel to: The Hardest Thing  
Summary: What happens next?  
A/N: This chapter has been heavily revised from the original version posted in 2005.  
A/N2: This story was planned long before I saw any of Season 5 of AtS; therefore things will be different, although some of Season 5 will creep in every now and then.

* * *

Angel sat behind the big desk in his new office, the sun shining in through the protective windows. It had been two days and there was still no word from or on Sunnydale. The new contacts from Wolfram and Hart had not been much help; all they could, or would, tell them was that the First had been 'dealt' with and that Sunnydale and its Hellmouth was no more. Lilah had added in that there was still far too much to be done in LA to spare someone to go looking for the Scooby Gang, and hadn't Buffy asked that he would stay away as her back up?

Taking over the enemy's nest was not going to be all sunshine and daisies; Cordelia was still in a coma; Fred was not settling in at all well; Gunn was somehow part panther and Wesley, well he had put up a front, not that he realised why, perhaps he thought it was something to do with Lilah. Lorne seemed to be the only one of them having a ball; would you have believed how much of Hollywood dealt with Wolfram and Hart?

Whilst Angel was coordinating the takeover, also known as sitting behind his big desk getting another headache, he still wondered on Buffy's fate. He had even contacted the nuts over at 'The Lone Gunmen', as they sometimes knew what was going on in Sunnydale. They had no news of them either.

"Angel?"

"Yes, Lilah?"

"Time to interview your next secretarial candidate."

"What sort of demon is it this time?"

"Oh, you know her, you'll get on just great, Angel." With that smug sounding answer she had turned her head to the door behind her, "Harmony, you can come in now."

* * *

"Buffy, are you even listening to any of us?"

"Yes, Giles. Even if it is just a repetition of every 'discussion' over the last two days."

"Well, if you would grace us with your ideas."

"You're actually going to listen this time?" The faces around her had all looked shocked at her answer, perhaps they had expected her to return to meek-Buffy. _I don't think so._ At Giles' nod she began detailing her plans.

"Fine. Giles, you said there was another Hellmouth in Cleveland?" at his answering nod, she continued, "Then we need some people covering it straight away, in case of any backlash from Sunnydale."

"Who do you suggest?"

"Faith, Robin and a few mini-Slayers. They can recruit a few extra Watchers when they get there."

"And how do you expect to pay for all of this?" This had been Giles, again, Buffy had begun to wonder if the rest of them had lost their voices all of a sudden. She hoped not, she was not looking forward to another repeat of The Gentlemen.

"I'll get to that in a minute Giles. Faith, Robin, does this sound good to you? Once we get you seen to of course Robin."

"Sure, B. Which of the mini's do we get?"

"Your pick, you'll be in charge, they have to be people you're willing to work with."

"Great, how long do I have?"

"A few days, I want you guys there as soon as possible."

The two veteran slayers grinned at each other, they had become a little closer now that they were clear on where they stood with each other.

"Well Buffy, you seem to have gotten rid of some of the competition, who's next?" Kennedy had piped up from her seat behind Willow, Buffy still wasn't sure what her best friend saw in the girl, the girl was more of a brat that she had ever been.

"You, actually."

"Buffy!"

"Giles. Kennedy. This is not me getting rid of my 'competition', this is me placing my resources strategically."

"So, I'm nothing more than a 'resource' to you?"

"Not right now you're not, Kennedy." Willow appeared to be suspiciously silent on the topic of what was to be done with her girlfriend.

"I may not like you, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to your good qualities. You did good in helping to train the girls; that's what I want you to continue to do, maybe with a little less military style…"

"Ok."

"You won't be alone though," Buffy was not ready to leave the new slayer alone with her own army of slayers to command, "The rest of the mini slayers will be with you and Giles."

Giles looked midway between surprised and accepting of his fate.

"And where are you sending us to?"

"I'm not sure yet, England or LA."

"What, the all-knowing uber-Slayer doesn't know?"

"No, Xander, I don't know everything, but then, who does? Giles, are you happy with this?"

"I must say that I'll be happier when I know more about it, but you seem to have thought your plan through. However, where is the money coming from for these ventures?"

"That's where you come in Giles: your job is threefold; find new slayers, help to train new watchers and get us access to the old Council's funds, which I'm sure they had."

"They did."

"That's all great, but what will the rest of us be doing, what will you be doing?"

"We'll sort all that out once we get where we're headed Dawn."

"You mean you haven't yet figured out where you're gonna dump me this time?"

"That's not what I meant Dawnie, you'll like what I have planned for us."

"Disneyland?" The teenager's eyes had lit up at that thought for the first time in months, Buffy almost felt bad that that was not what she had planned for them both.

"No, somewhere better; but first we need to get to LA, to a hospital and to make contact with Angel."

Making sure that everyone knew that that had been the end of the conversation she turned away from the continuing noise, back to the window and the sun shining in.

* * *

Mulder still had a look of betrayal across his face; so convinced that Krycek was about to lead him astray once more. Scully was sat next to him at the large conference table, facing Alex and the Lone Gunmen were to one side.

"We're all here, do we get the truth now?"

Alex nodded and closed his eyes, when he opened them again the betrayed look was still evident, but mixed with something else, Mulder's insufferable curiosity had returned. Alex almost grinned at the man.

"You know most everything about me, except this one piece of my life: my family."

A look of shock crossed both their faces.

"What, you thought I sprang from a pod?"

And now contrition was added to the mix of emotions that were flitting across their faces, it was odd how much showed when the pair let some of their guards down.

"My only surviving family are my two cousins, Buffy and Dawn, my Aunt Joyce's children. They grew up in LA and moved to Sunnydale when Buffy was sixteen, she's twenty-two now and Dawn is sixteen."

"That's great, it's always good to hear more of the life and times of Alex Krycek; but what has this got to do with the photo's I showed you?"

Alex pointed to the piles of folders in front of the pair, "Those files in front of you document the basics of what happened in Sunnydale for the last seven years, right up until a few seconds before it disappeared."

He sat back in his seat, enjoying the looks of awe and curiosity on the faces in front of him; perhaps something of Sunnydale had reached back to them during their years on the X-Files.

"Read them now, I'll answer questions tomorrow."

End part.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Getting There 3/?  
Author: Emony  
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; X-Files belongs to Chris Carter, etc. Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon.  
Rating: PG-13  
Spoilers: end of Buffy, end of X-Files.  
Series: The Chosen Truth  
Summary: What happens next?

* * *

The arrival of a big yellow school bus in LA marked the end of a journey and the start of a new life for some. For others it was just another day and that was just another of the hundreds of yellow school buses across the busy city.

The bus pulled up outside of the Hotel Hyperion, a young blonde woman jumped off and entered the hotel to find it empty. Scanning the foyer, Buffy Summers noticed a piece of yellow paper on the top of a counter.

_Buffy,_

_We're currently branching out, I'll explain later. I hope everything went ok, I hope you get to read this._

_The rooms are ready for guests, you and the rest are welcome to stay for as long as you wish._

_You can reach me on 555 0314._

_Angel. _

Smiling, she went back to the bus to unload, she'd ring Angel once she had a shower and a nap.

* * *

The morning found Alex back in the meeting room, once again facing Mulder and Scully. Mulder looked like a kid at Christmas and Scully looked like she was one step away from pulling out her sceptic's hat again.

"Alex? Is this all really true?"

He nodded.

"The vampires? The Mayor? The magic? All of it?"

He nodded again.

"Surely there's some sort of scientific explanation for the various phenomena?"

Alex shook his head, poor Scully, always searching for some science and reason in a world gone mad.

"Like gangs on PCP? Or maybe you would prefer gas leaks?"

Scully looked defeated, "I guess not. You're cousin is a wonderful young woman, she's so strong for her age."

"She had to be."

Mulder fidgeted as he asked his next question, "The original topic, the hole that was once Sunnydale, why? The files didn't provide an answer."

Alex sighed, looking more vulnerable than Mulder or Scully had ever seen him.

"I don't know. The data stopped transmitting, next thing there's reports of a massive cave in."

"Ms Summers wasn't able to tell you anything?"

Alex looked Scully in the eye, "I haven't heard from her, neither have any of her contacts."

"I'm sorry, Alex." Mulder nodded his agreement at his partner's words.

"She's probably just taking a while to regroup or something. Do you have anymore questions?"

His desire to avoid talking on the topic of the possible survivors of Sunnydale was evident to all those at the conference table. Unsurprisingly, both Mulder and Scully had many questions and Alex then spent the day answering them to the best of his abilities, the fate of his cousins never far from his mind.

* * *

Angel had spent his morning getting acquainted with clients and then the local dry cleaners. Lunch was then spent catching up with his friends, although nothing had really changed for any of them from the day before.

He stood in his office, looking out across LA into the sunshine, an unfamiliar sensation, one he was sure would never get used to, and would always have him on guard should the windows 'special properties' suddenly fail.

His phone rang, he was slow in answering, not wishing to speak to yet another demonic client he would have to slay. The voice on the other end of the phone was a blessing.

"Hey, Angel, it's me. We're at the hotel."

"Buffy?" He fell into his chair in relief, "Thank God you're ok. You are ok, aren't you?"

"I made it out." She sighed, he could feel the heaviness down the phone line, "it's probably best if we have this conversation face to face."

"Ok. I can be at the hotel in thirty minutes, is that good for you?"

"Probably not, you'd be staked, they're all a bit on edge. I'll come to you."

Her words puzzled him. _They?_ He shook his head.

"We're at Wolfram and Hart, do you know it?"

"Sure, that's where Dad's lawyers were from for the divorce. I'll be there as soon as I can."

And she was gone. It seemed typical to Angel that Wolfram and Hart would have a hand in the divorce of the slayer's parents. Joyce must have had a good lawyer to come out of it as well as she had done.

He spent several minutes straightening his office and dealing with some business, then he decided to meet Buffy in the foyer, realising that otherwise the slayer could cause havoc, or have a run in with Harmony.

* * *

As Buffy entered the foyer she wondered how she hadn't sensed the demons on her previous visit and what the hell Angel was up to. Perhaps the last time the demons had been moved out of the building having had notice of her arrival.

"Buffy!"

She turned and broke into a grin as Angel strode across the foyer to meet her. He gathered her in a friendly embrace, quite different from their previous one; releasing her he looked her over.

"You look good."

"You too, Angel." She returned, avoiding mention in the open of the hidden bandages wrapped around her waist.

"This way." He led her to an elevator that climbed several floors as they stood in silence. The first face she saw was one she had not expected to see again. Not looking at his guest the blonde vampire launched into a long list of things for him to deal with.

"Boss, there's a mug of blood on your desk for you and some files from Fred, some more from Mr Wyndham-Pryce and Lilah wants to see you at seven, oh and if you could sign the blue sheets of paper on the right hand side of your desk for me, that would be great."

"Boss?"

"Uh, Buffy…"

"Oh, wow! Buffy! It's been an age! When you've finished with the boss man we'll have to get coffee! Well, you can have the coffee, I can have the bl-"

"Thanks, Harmony."

With that Angel led a Buffy torn between confusion and laughter into his office for what her was sure was to be a long discussion.

"Oh, and Boss?"

"_Yes_, Harmony?"

"The purple file is that case file you were after, why you'd be interested in a divorce case, I don't know."

End part.


End file.
